Victims have described Mohamed Al Fayed of operating a 'lion's den' of depravity(Image: Getty Images)

'Monster' Mohamed Al Fayed was 'like Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein'

Lawyers investigating the monstrous assaults carried out by the late Mohamed Al Fayed and his victims who have come forward have painted a picture of serial depravity and violation

by · The Mirror

Mohamed Al Fayed has been ­compared to vile serial sex offenders Jimmy Savile and Jeffrey Epstein as a hundred women have now accused the late Harrods tycoon of abuse.

Al Fayed was branded a “monster” as a probe by lawyers into him widened and more sickening allegations emerged yesterday. After a BBC documentary, 100 women have now come forward accusing him of sexual abuse and rape. Lawyers are now looking into his time in charge of Fulham FC and the Paris Ritz after one alleged victim claimed he operated a “lion’s den” of depravity.

Barrister Dean Armstrong KC told a press conference the case “combines some of the most horrific elements of those involving Jimmy Savile, Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein’’. He added: “I have many years of practice but I have never seen a case as horrific as this. We will say plainly, Mohammed Al Fayed was a monster.”

Harrods was accused of being plagued by a “toxic” culture under Al Fayed’s 25-year rule, where young female staff were procured for him “for sexual gratification”. Barrister Bruce Drummond said: “This is one of the worst cases of corporate sexual ­exploitation that certainly I, and perhaps the world, has ever seen. It was ­absolutely horrific and I can’t stress that word enough.”

Al Fayed enjoyed connections with establishment figures( Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Mr Drummond said alleged victims have contacted him from the US, Canada, Malaysia, Australia, Italy and Romania to describe how they were preyed on at the plush London store he owned from 1986 to 2010.

One, called Natacha, told the press conference Egytian-born Al Fayed lured her to his private flat “on the pretext of a job review”. She said: “The door was locked behind me… I saw his bedroom door partially open, there were sex toys on view. I felt petrified. I perched myself at the very end of the sofa and then Mohamed Al Fayed, my boss, the person I worked for, pushed himself on to me.”

Dean Armstrong KC( Image: PA)

Natacha told how she managed to “kick off” Al Fayed, who then laughed at her and warned her “in no uncertain terms she would never work in London again” if she breathed a word about the attack. She added: “He told me he knew where my family lived. I felt scared and sick. He had behaved like a father figure, often saying ‘call me papa’, as if to make me feel safe.”

“Unbeknownst to me, I had walked into a lion’s den, a layer of cover-ups, deceit, lies, ­manipulation, humiliation and gross sexual misconduct. He preyed on the most v­ulnerable, those of us who needed to pay the rent or didn’t have parents to protect them.”

Natacha (right) claimed Al Fayed locked her in a room( Image: PA)

Lindsay Mason, 55, claims Al Fayed tried to rape her on a trip to Paris in 1989, when she worked for Harrods. He had flown her there on a private jet with three TV stars. She was one of the women who had waived their right to anonymity in a bid to give others the strength to come forward.

Gemma said: “For so many years we kept it secret for fear of people not believing us or taking us seriously and all of a sudden these amazing women are coming forward. I hope it gives people a voice.” Katherine added: “I hope that going forward young women can just go to work and not have to worry.”

Natacha with high profile US lawyer Gloria Allred( Image: PA)

Lawyer’s said Thursday’s BBC documentary Al Fayed: Predator at Harrods sparked an overwhelming response. It claimed he was free to abuse female staff for a quarter of a century. A number of the alleged victims claimed they were “required” to have invasive examinations for sexually transmitted diseases.

Mr Drummond said some have ended up in “psychiatric care”. He added: “This should never have happened and Harrods must accept responsibility for the damage these women have suffered.”

Al Fayed owned the Harrods department store( Image: PA)

Al Fayed was accused of presiding over a “culture of fear” at the store and trying to silence his victims with threats and intimidation.

Its current owners have said they were “appalled” by the ­allegations and apologised to victims. Fulham said it is trying to establish whether Al Fayed, who bought the club in 1997, attacked employees.

Al Fayed, who died last year aged 94, had met the Royal Family often as his son Dodi dated Princess Diana.

Scotland Yard’s former head of royalty protection Dai Davies claimed he warned the Queen about the tycoon’s reputation in the 1990s.